


Thorns

by HexingHaze



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different deaths, Kiibo not Keebo, Light Angst, M/M, Ouma not Oma, POV Second Person, POV Shuuichi Saihara, Possible Spoilers, Probably other tags I should add, Short Chapters, Shuuichi not Shuichi, Slow Updates, Things I can't tag because story spoilers, Would be chapter two from a DanganRonpa stand point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-10 10:26:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13500000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HexingHaze/pseuds/HexingHaze
Summary: Pushing someone away is a bad idea. Pushing the person that can fix this away is a worse idea, even if it hurts less.





	1. Chapter One

You know today is going to be an awful day before you can even leave your room. You know this because the only reason you awoke at all was the body discovery announcement blaring through your monitor screen and telling you to head to the gym. The static noise of the screen switching off made your head hurt, and it was nearly impossible to comprehend why anyone would start the killing game again. Even the first murderer didn't want any part in this, only participating to save everyone else's lives.

Begrudgingly, you left the comfort, if you could call it that, of your room, heading to the aforementioned gym. You ran into Kiibo on the way, so the both of you walked together, a cold, heavy silence in the air as you neared your destination. Standing in front of the door was Rantaro, another of your classmates; he has one of those smiles on his face. The type of smile he would wear when either hiding something or wanting to be alone.

"Hey, Shuuichi, you might want to brace yourself for this one." Rantaro says, pushing the door open for you and Kiibo. You couldn't even ask what he meant because as soon as you look in the gym, you see him. He's just laying there, face down in the middle of the room. Your eyes trail through the gym, hoping to catch sight of someone more dead looking. Wishing it was someone else and he was just playing a really mean prank on you. But, you knew it wasn't the case. The moment you saw him you knew your best friend was dead.

"N-no..." You utter, frozen in place. You just stand there, staring at the one person you would actually throw your life away for. He didn't deserve this, he hated this more than you did. 

But you can't bring yourself to move, this just makes you think of Kaede, reminding you that both of the people you spent all of your time with were dead. Kokichi didn't deserve to die, and you don't even care that the culprit was going to be executed, you just want them to die painfully.

Then the bear arrives, grinning like usual, "It's time for the investigation, everyone gets a nice, old Monokuma File!". He brandishes the tablets, carelessly tossing one to all of you. Kiibo ends up catching both his own and yours. Monokuma leaves just as quickly as he appeared, laughing at the expression on your face as he does.

"Here, Shuuichi." Kiibo hands you the file, his voice soft. You take the device, clicking the button to turn it on. It lights up, the previously black screen filling with the information you don't like.

'The victim of this case is Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader.' Somehow the words set your mind into place, you're going to make the culprit pay for making this line of dialogue into reality. 'The victim died around nine last night.' You're not sure why Kokichi would come here so late at night. Perhaps the culprit wanted to meet with him? 'The victim's body has no external wounds' That explains why you can't see any blood. You silently hope he died quickly. 

And then your Monokuma File suddenly shut off, leaving you to click the on button again. No image shows up this time and you look at it confused for a moment. Either the mastermind didn't want you seeing something or it was out of power, you want it to be the second option but you can't rule it out.

You decide to look at the body first. It would be best to finish that part quickly.


	2. Chapter Two

You walk over to Kokichi, noting how much it looks like he's just asleep. You let that mindset stay for a moment, pretending for just a second that you had walked into Kokichi's dorm and he was laying face down on his pillow. You shake your head, letting out a small sigh of sadness, the image you had pictured made you feel worse almost as if you were losing him a second time.

"Shuuichi, let's investigate together!" Kaito exclaims, giving you a reason to tear your vision from Kokichi's body. You truthfully didn't want to listen to Kaito go on about whatever he would go on about. not that you would say that. Then you remember how much of a pushover you can be and end up nodding.

"..Kaito, could you help me flip the victim over?" You don't want to say his name, so you try sounding professional, like a real detective. Your companion nods and you turn Kokichi onto his back.

A small amount of blood was drawn from his closed mouth, some of the metallic liquid on the ground that was beneath him. Not much was different about his appearance, though his purple hair was dishevelled and you had to stare into his opened eyes for a moment; he looked tired, not even fearful, just tired and upset. Upon closer inspection, thin tear tracks lined his face.

If Kokichi was crying, was he upset before he was attacked or was it that painful? So far it seemed poison was the obvious killer, though you're not sure where someone could get poison, maybe they made it?

"What're you thinking, Partner?" Kaito asks, just as loud as usual. You don't really feel like answering him, you're pretty caught up in thinking of methods of poisoning that the killer could possibly use.

"Not much, Kaito..." You trail off, "It's just... W-why Kokichi?" You mentally scold yourself for stuttering, you really need to be stronger for your now dead friend.

Kaito doesn't have an answer, he ends up staying quiet so you go back to the body. If the file was correct you had no reason to check for wounds, and instead, opt for checking his mouth. You gently trace your hand over his face before slowly loosening the muscles of his jaw.

More blood falls, getting on your clothing but you couldn't care less. The thing that made you care were the spots of yellow and blue that stood out to the crimson coating his insides. Despite the disgust you feel, you press your fingers to one of the biggest yellow areas, it feels like a blood-matted very thin piece of delicate, tearable cloth. You fish it out of its saliva covered placement. It's a small yellow rose, specks of blood adding red and the sharp thorns completely bloodied and gripping into his flesh.

You sit there for a moment, dumbfounded. Why were there roses in his mouth? Just to confirm you grip one of the small blue places to earn a disgusting, torn and bitten, wilting rose petal. 

Now you're just confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is the cause of death obvious now? Tell me in the comments! Or don't, I honestly don't care either way.
> 
> Poor Kokichi though. He doesn't deserve this, yet this is how I show my 'love' for his amazing character. 
> 
> Two chapters this close together?! Wow... Don't expect anything of me.


	3. Chapter Three

"Hey, Partner, I'm gonna throw my jacket in my room real quick. It's really hot in here for some reason." Kaito says, and for the first time, you realize he's right. The normally colder area feels really hot, like an oven almost. He walks off and you stand up and follow him, you want to check out Kokichi's room if you can anyways. 

"Kaito..." Your voice trails off for a moment, "You have that garden with Rantaro, right?" You don't want to doubt either of them but you have to.

"Uh, yeah, why?" He asks, clearly confused on why you brought it up. His face quickly flashes to realization, "Oh! It has roses in it. Yellow and Red. We haven't dyed any of them blue though."

You nod. The flowers must have come from there -you made a note to go to the garden if you had time- and the culprit dyed some of them blue. You wonder why they dyed them, but you can't think of any possible reason. 

You and Kaito arrive at the dorms, he heads to his room while you go to Kokichi's. Like you expected, it's locked and you have no way to unlock it. An area of blue gets your attention, and you take notice of a torn blue rose petal sitting under his doorframe. Like the two you took from Kokichi's body, you pocket it as evidence.

While waiting for Kaito, you think over the case for a moment and something dawns on you; why wasn't his body in a state of rigor mortis? He died around eleven hours ago and with the temperature of the gym it certainly wouldn't have subsided yet. Another piece of the puzzle you need to solve.

"Shuuichi!" Kaito practically yells in your face. You must have gotten lost in thought. He isn't wearing his jacket anymore, and he still has that dumb grin on his face as if Kokichi's death doesn't matter.

"...Sorry, Kaito. Uh, Do you know who found the body?" You ask, wanting as much information for the trial as you can get. Kaito tells you Angie, Himiko, and Tsumugi found the body first, then he and Kirumi entered shortly after the announcement.

You walk off, heading to the gym to talk to the three of them.

While Angie, Himiko, and Tsumugi couldn't have done you still have nine other suspects to go through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you couldn't tell, the killer and victim of the first case were Kaede and Tenko. The two agreed to kill Tenko so everyone could survive the time limit.
> 
> The case is pretty easy, isn't it? :)


	4. Chapter Four

"Angie was gonna help me with a magic show... Tsumugi was in here when the two of us got here." Himiko tells you, yawning as she adjusts the hat on her head, "Can I go now? My MP is really low."

You nod to Himiko, asking Angie the same thing and getting a similar response of "Atua told Angie to help Himiko! Don't question what God says to Angie, but he thinks Tsumugi did it." 

Both Angie and Himiko partnered off and headed somewhere you didn't bother finding out. You wanted to know why Tsumugi was here, then get everyone's alibis.

"Tsumugi, why were you in the gym this morning?" You ask her, keeping your eyes on her so as to avoid looking at the victim.

The cosplayer looks lost in thought for a moment before pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket. She shoves it into your hands, "Because I found that under my door when I woke up, and I thought it was a genuine request. Now I think it was just an excuse so I would find the body though."

You look at the paper, reading it in your head 'Tsumugi Shirogane, could you meet me in the gym? I want to ask a cosplay favour of you. Sorry.' The note did seem like an excuse for Tsumugi to find the body, but why Tsumugi and not someone else. The writing was slightly scribbled, no doubt a way for the killer to hide their identity. It confused you on why they wanted to speed up the process of finding Kokichi. The sorry at the end was weird as well, why would they apologize if they actually wanted to kill him.

"Shuuichi, could I have the paper back, please? I might need it if anyone else asks why I came here." The blue haired girl says, and you half-heartedly tossed it to her. She thanks you and walks over to Kiibo.

You close your eyes for just a moment, breathing in as you thought. The note was strange and if Tsumugi hadn't been one of the three people before the announcement you would be doubting her.

"Shuuichi, what were you doing last night?" Maki's voice asks you, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You think for a moment, "I was with... Kokichi until he excused himself around Eight-thirty-ish. After that, I headed back to my room." You pause as you realize something, if you didn't let him leave, Kokichi would be alive still! It was your fault he died, you could have prevented this.

"That's suspicious, but I'll listen for now, What did he say before leaving? His last words might be important." Her voice is softer than usual, probably because she knows this is hard for you, it's a nice gesture but it makes you feel pathetic for some reason.

"H-his final words? Um... Kokichi said that he was heading back to his room and that I could find him tomorrow." I reply, not really seeing how it would help before something clicks; why did he say 'Find him tomorrow'?

Maki doesn't say anything, nodding her head and staring at me for a while, eventually, she sighs, "We'll find them, okay, Shuuichi? I may not like Kokichi but this is just cruel to you."

It's silent again, and you have to keep yourself from crying.

You would definitely find them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, my writing sucks. I'll work on it, and probably rewrite this thing after it's done.
> 
> On another note, flowers suck, don't they?

**Author's Note:**

> This was just an idea I got a few minutes ago, so... yeah!  
> It was going to be Kiibo/Kokichi but I think Shuuichi works better for my plan.  
> Hopefully, it's not bad. I wrote it in fifteen minutes and only checked over it once.


End file.
